| name | darwin-pipelines-as-code |
| description | Pipeline trigger commands for Pipelines-as-Code (PaC) and vanilla GitLab CI. Single source of truth for /retest, /test, /ok-to-test, and /cancel. |
| requires | ["darwin-gitlab-ops"] |
| roles | ["developer","sysadmin"] |
Pipeline Trigger Commands
Pipeline retests and cancellations are triggered by posting specific commands as MR/PR comments. Two CI environments exist -- choose the right commands for the environment.
Pipelines as Code (PaC)
PaC pipelines are Tekton PipelineRuns triggered by a controller that watches MR/PR comments. The following commands are recognized:
| Command | Behavior |
|---|
/retest | Re-run failed PipelineRuns for the current commit. Skips runs that already succeeded (duplicate suppression). |
/retest <pipelinerun-name> | Always triggers a new run for the named PipelineRun, even if a previous run succeeded. |
/test | Re-trigger all matched PipelineRuns for the current commit. |
/test <pipelinerun-name> | Re-trigger only the named PipelineRun. |
/ok-to-test | Authorize pipeline execution for first-time or external contributors (trust gate). |
/cancel | Cancel all running PipelineRuns on the MR/PR. |
/cancel <pipelinerun-name> | Cancel only the named PipelineRun. |
Vanilla GitLab CI
Vanilla GitLab CI pipelines are triggered by the GitLab CI/CD service, not a Tekton controller. The /retest comment is recognized by GitLab as a pipeline retry. The /test, /ok-to-test, and /cancel commands are PaC-specific and have no effect on vanilla GitLab CI pipelines.
Command Selection
| Situation | Command |
|---|
| Transient failure (network, registry, flaky test) | /retest |
| Need to re-run a specific PipelineRun regardless of prior result | /retest <pipelinerun-name> |
| Re-trigger all pipelines (e.g., after external dependency fix) | /test |
| First-time contributor PR needs CI authorization | /ok-to-test |
| Stuck or runaway pipeline consuming resources | /cancel |
Expected Behavior After Posting
/retest with duplicate suppression: if all runs for the current commit already succeeded, no new run is created. Post /retest <name> to force a re-run./ok-to-test authorization: the contributor is trusted for this MR/PR. Subsequent pushes trigger pipelines automatically without another /ok-to-test.- After posting any trigger command, check pipeline status to confirm it was accepted (status changed to
running or pending). Report the current state and return -- do not poll.
- On subsequent dispatches, if the pipeline is still non-terminal, check queue state on the build cluster (see
darwin-k8s-mcp) and include it in the report.
Failure Modes
- Closed MR/PR: Commands do not work on closed merge/pull requests. If the MR/PR is closed, the command is silently ignored.
- Permissions: The comment author must have sufficient permissions. If Darwin's service account lacks authorization, the command has no effect and no error is returned.
- No matching PipelineRun:
/retest <name> or /test <name> with a non-existent PipelineRun name produces no pipeline. Check the PipelineRun name against the repository's PaC configuration.
- Command not recognized: If the repository uses vanilla GitLab CI and a PaC-only command (
/test, /ok-to-test, /cancel) is posted, it appears as a regular comment with no CI effect.
Reference
Pipelines as Code GitOps Commands
